ICIMOD also showed us ways farmers can maximize their land use, especially when they don't have much space. One of these methods is called grow bag farming, which is when crops are grown in recycled bags filled with soil. Another method is hydroponics, which is when plants are grown in water rather than soil. The nutrition the plants need is transferred through the tubes of water they're grown in. This method is less accessible than grow bag farming, since the farmers need to buy materials and nutrients.
Finally, we learned about methods for mushroom farming. One of the methods is to put mushroom spores (which are like the seeds of mushrooms) into holes in logs. The mushrooms will grow by taking nutrients from decomposing logs. Another method is to put the mushroom spores in the ground after layering soil and hay. Mushroom farming is great for farmers in the mountains because mushrooms sell for high prices and don't take a lot of work to grow.
The community has these needs because across the globe, climate change is making it harder to be a farmer. This is because the demand for food is rising as unpredictable and extreme weather threatens farmers' crops. Farmers, therefore, need to be more conscious of how their farming is affecting the environment. For example, bio-fertilizers like vermiwash and jholmal both address the problem of chemical fertilizers eroding soil. By using organic fertilizers, farmers can make sure they're not harming their soil and are keeping it fertile for the future.
